Technical Report and Statistics
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AFC Beach Soccer Championship Thailand 2019 TECHNICAL REPORT AND STATISTICS Technical Report and Statistics | 1 MESSAGE BY AFC PRESIDENT SHAIKH SALMAN BIN EBRAHIM AL KHALIFA I am delighted to present the Technical Report We also express the AFC’s appreciation to the for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Beach LOC in Pattaya, the Football Association of Soccer Championship which was so successfully Thailand and the Local Government for staging held in Pattaya, Thailand – demonstrating the an exceptional tournament and to our Member AFC’s continued commitment to delivering top Associations for their unity in supporting and level competition. expanding the reach of beach soccer. On behalf of the Asian football family I offer my The commendable performances from congratulations to Japan who defeated the United emerging teams such as Palestine, Malaysia and Arab Emirates on penalties to take the title and Afghanistan are testimony to the increasingly third-placed Oman who will make up Asia’s three competitive nature and continued progress of representatives at the FIFA Beach Soccer World the sport in Asia. Cup in Paraguay. Those advances will be reflected in the pages of Asia has a proud history on the world stage in this Technical Report and I thank the Technical beach soccer with IR Iran claiming third place in the Study Group, the AFC Technical, Competitions last edition of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup and Referees Committees for their contributions in the Bahamas and I am confident Japan, UAE to a memorable tournament. and Oman will continue our remarkable record in Paraguay and build on the undeniable rise of the I would like to thank everyone for their valuable sport. contribution to this report. There were 15 teams in the 2019 competition, a marked increase from the 12 teams that took part in the previous edition. This further underlines the success of our Vision and Mission to provide more opportunities for Asia’s teams and players to compete in top level competitions. Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa AFC President AFC Beach Soccer Championship Thailand 2019 CONTENTS COMPETITION MATCH REPORTS RESULTS AND OVERVIEW STATISTICS TECHNICAL GOALSCORING TEAM TOPICS ANALYSIS PROFILES REFEREES STAR COACHES SELECTION TALKING POINTS AWARDS EXTRA-TIME ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Technical Report and Statistics | 3 AFC Beach Soccer Championship Thailand 2019 COMPETITION overview Technical Report and Statistics | 4 AFC Beach Soccer Championship Thailand 2019 Section 1: COMPETITION overview GROUP A GROUP B Group A THAILAND , PALESTINE, MALAYSIA, AFGHANISTAN Group B LEBANON, CHINA P.R, KYRGYZ REPUBLIC, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Group C JAPAN, BAHRAIN, KUWAIT, QATAR Group D I.R. IRAN , OMAN, IRAQ THAILAND PALESTINE MALAYSIA AFGHANISTAN LEBANON CHINA P.R. KRYGYZ UNITED ARAB REPUBLIC EMIRATES GROUP C GROUP D JAPAN BAHRAIN KUWAIT QATAR ISLAMIC OMAN IRAQ REPUBLIC OF IRAN Technical Report and Statistics | 5 AFC Beach Soccer Championship Thailand 2019 MATCH REPORTS Technical Report and Statistics | 6 AFC Beach Soccer Championship Thailand 2019 Section 2: MATCH REPORTS Group Stage A group stage of drama and quality whittled the AFC Beach Soccer Championship field from 15 down to eight, with Palestine, United Arab Emirates, Japan and Oman emerging from the frenetic first six days of the competition as group winners. Group A Palestine had been absent from the 2017 edition of the tournament, but made up for lost time to lead the way in Group A, as Maisara Al Bawwab and Mahmoud Al Neirab combined for seven goals to help Imaeldeen Hashim’s side win all three matches and top the group. An opening night 5-2 win over Thailand was followed by a 3-2 success against Afghanistan two days later, with a thrilling 6-5 win over Malaysia on Matchday Three securing a perfect nine points for the West Asians. Losing to Palestine nearly ended Malaysia’s campaign, but already-eliminated Thailand roused themselves for a 2-0 win against Afghanistan, ensuring Malaysia’s three points and superior head-to-head record would be enough for a ticket to the last eight. Group B With two of the semi-finalists from the previous staging of the tournament drawn together, Group B appeared a challenging proposition for China PR and debutants Kyrgyz Republic, and so it proved, as UAE and Lebanon sealed returns to the knockout stage. The Emiratis won all three of their matches, easing past Kyrgyz Republic (6-1) and China PR (6-2) before overturning a two-goal deficit to beat Lebanon 3-2 in the final match and seal top spot in the section. Lebanon’s path to the knockout stage was confirmed in earlier wins over China PR (5-3) and Kyrgyz Republic (11-2), with Amarelle’s Chinese side going home with a smile after they earned a thumping 9-3 win over the Central Asians on Matchday Three. Technical Report and Statistics | 7 AFC Beach Soccer Championship Thailand 2019 Section 2: MATCH REPORTS Group Stage Group C Japan reigned supreme in Group C, earning comprehensive back-to-back wins over Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain to finish with a perfect nine points, and Ozu Moreira sharing the lead at the top of the scoring charts with teammate Shusei Yamauchi. A 6-2 Matchday Three win over Bahrain ultimately decided the group, but Mahmood Al Ghawi’s side had already qualified by virtue of their earlier 5-2 wins over Qatar and Kuwait. Kuwait’s disappointment at failing to advance to the knockout stage was tempered slightly by their stirring final performance, where they dominated from start to finish to secure an 8-1 win over last-placed Qatar Group D Reigning champions Islamic Republic of Iran came into the competition as the second-ranked team in the world, and they showed their class early, winning all three periods to beat Iraq 5-2 in their tournament opener. Oman were equally impressive on their first outing, producing a searing first 12 minutes before claiming a 6-3 win over the Iraqis to qualify for the knockout stage, and set up a mouth-watering Matchday Three match against the holders. That group decider lived up to its lofty expectations, with Oman finally prevailing 4-3 in a wonderful exhibition of beach soccer to consign Iran to a quarter-final showdown against Japan. Technical Report and Statistics | 8 AFC Beach Soccer Championship Thailand 2019 Section 2: MATCH REPORTS quarter-finals Eight teams entered, but only four survived, as Oman, Japan, UAE and Palestine advanced on a hugely significant quarter-final day in Pattaya. The most notable casualty was undoubtedly defending champions Islamic Republic of Iran, who suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat against Japan, with Takuya Akaguma’s goal in the second minute of extra-time proving decisive. Semi-finalists in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in 2017, the Iranians will be absent from the 2019 finals, after squandering a 2-0 first-period lead against their fellow Asian beach soccer giants in a pulsating game that had all the quality and the intensity of a continental final. Joining Japan in the last four were Palestine, who prevailed in a similarly dramatic match against Lebanon, with Imadeldeen Hashim’s side holding on for a historic win after Mahmoud Al Neirab put in the lead for the first time in the match with just 90 seconds remaining. Lebanon’s prolific Haitham Fattal scored twice, taking his tally to six for the tournament, but they suffered a painful knockout stage elimination for the second successive edition of the tournament, deferring their World Cup dream for another two years. Oman continued their winning streak, but it took late goals from Khalid Al Oraimi and Yahya Al Araimi to secure a hard-fought 5-3 win over a gallant Bahrain. Both sides scoring in the opening minute, and they shared five goals between them in an energetic opening period, but Talib Hilal’s side pulled away when it mattered most to take their tournament record to three wins from three. The remaining semi-final didn’t have the tension of quarter-final day’s other epic encounters, but it did feature a standout performance from United Arab Emirates, who convincingly swept Malaysia aside to win 8-1. Three goals in the opening period, and four in the last, underlined UAE’s dominance, as the World Cup regulars brought Malaysia’s run to the knockout stage to an end, and set up an enticing semi-final against neighbours Oman. Technical Report and Statistics | 9 AFC Beach Soccer Championship Thailand 2019 Section 2: MATCH REPORTS Semi-finals UAE and Japan advanced to the AFC Beach Soccer Championship Final, and became the first two Asian sides to qualify for the 2019 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, after wins of a vastly different nature on semi-final day. Mohammed Almaazmi’s UAE side prevailed in an arm-wrestle of an encounter with Oman, with the excellent Waleed Beshr finally sealing a 3-2 win with a 34th-minute winner. Fresh from their stress-free win over Malaysia 24 hours prior, the Emiratis raced to a sixth-minute lead through Hasham Al Munatser, but Nooh Al Zadjali gave Oman a new lease on life when he equalised midway through the second period. Abbas Ali Daryaei wasted no time restoring the UAE’s lead, scoring just seconds later, but, once again, Oman managed to recover, this time through a somewhat fortuitous Sami Al Bulushi, who deflected teammate Jalal Al Sinani’s shot into the net with eight minutes remaining. Then, with extra-time looking the likely outcome, Beshr scored a wonderful volley to take his side into the final, and ensure they’ll be among the 16 global finalists in Paraguay.